After One
by Jyo-Chan
Summary: From the plush seats, to the blue lighting to the echoing music and the almost stifling air, Roxas thought this was going to be another one of those ordinary days, and then he saw him. Axel x Roxas. -Dedication to WGreyB-


From the plush seats, to the blue lighting to the echoing music and the almost stifling air, Roxas thought this was going to be another one of those ordinary days, and then he saw him; from his crimson red hair to his envy green eyes. Axel x Roxas. -Dedication to WGreyB-

Ahhh, screw the revamp…-scowls- I missed writing something new. Hoorahhh!

Ok, I was just joking, about screwing the revamp I mean …Still revamping some random things that have collected dust over the long months…Anyways, onward with the new one-shot

And uh, one last thing, -cough- Happy one year anniversary to you Blue. Hope you enjoy this one.

**Disclaimer - **Really now, if I even owned a _slight_ percentage of that game, would I be writing fanfiction? I think not. 記憶したか。

* * *

There was always some things about birthdays that he didn't like or enjoy.

For one thing, it was a loud and obnoxious kind of event, and another, it was just a another silly reason to throw a party and get drunk off your ass with bottles and bottles of only about five percent of alcohol per volume. Ages sixteen and up of course. Maybe with parental supervision if needed.

Roxas didn't particularly like birthdays. Sure at one point or another he _loved_ them, but as he grew older, his appreciation for it dissipated and now a birthday was just another ordinary day.

But the thing about birthdays though, it was the only time of the year where you're allowed to ask for anything you want, subtly of course, and be given the _perfect_ present andbe spoiled _senseless _because it's, well what do you know, your _birthday_. But nope, not Roxas. He doesn't even know what he wants out of life anymore.

He didn't know how he started not liking birthdays, but one day, he just realized that he just didn't like them anymore. It didn't hold the same magnitude as it did when he was eight years old or when he _just_ turned thirteen and officially became a 'teenager'.

Maybe it was his sixteenth birthday that made him dislike (not hate) it. Because it was the first day of exams and he slipped down the last four steps of the stairs and landed right on his ass, favoring the left cheek. There was a slight bump on it, even now, some years later.

Or maybe it was when he turned seventeen and his friends and family actually forgot. Up until the whole day was practically over, it was almost midnight and everybody made a very hasty attempt to make the blond feel better. With lots of texting and calling and midnight snacking.

It could've been when he turned eighteen, his best friend, Hayner, thought it would've been a good idea to slip in some condoms and candy into a 'Nightmare before Christmas' Jack Skellington messenger bag which him, Pence and Olette bought for the birthday boy.

He didn't really have much of a sweet tooth, but manners were still manners and he thanks his friends for the gift. Up until he spotted the odd item and he practically threw everything into the air.

It freaked him out and his face had been beet red when his friends laughed and pointed at him. Pence took a picture to commemorate the event all the while staying out of Roxas' reach so that his beloved digital camera wouldn't get bludgeoned.

It was actually Hayner's idea to put the condoms in and Pence and Olette didn't find out until Roxas took a look inside and pulled out a handful of lollies and a random _pink_ coloredcondom.

"Strawberry flavored man."

"Fuck you!" he shouted out in a mixture of threat and humor.

"No, no, it's _you_ fucking _somebody_ else." he added with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

That had been a pretty exciting year of sorts. Probably one of the most, if not the only, memorable birthdays he had ever had.

Or maybe it was his nineteenth birthday when he just felt like he didn't care anymore. It was _just_ another day.

What made the day that extra bit special was that it was the day he was born. So what? He shared his birthday with thousands and maybe even a million different other people. It was just another normal day.

Of course, just because he felt that way, didn't mean that his friends did. No need to drag them down with his sense of philosophy…

He'd still celebrate his friends' and everybody else's birthday, with a smile here and a laugh there and a shared conversation or two. But after the presents were given, and the song was sung and the cake was cut; he'd eat his share, stick around for a couple of gift-unwrapping, say goodnight and goodbye and then head home for a quiet evening.

It was almost his twentieth birthday soon, but he didn't want anything to happen. He wasn't expecting anything special to happen. In fact, he almost forgot about it. And it wasn't until his parents called that he was pleasantly reminded.

His parents had wanted to take him to the restaurant of his choice, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they had to cancel and get a rain-check because the business trip could not be postponed.

Roxas didn't particularly mind, since he wasn't that big on going out to eat and dressing up in something more than just the casual shirt and pants and converse shoes.

His college classmates (whom he wasn't all that close to) wanted to throw a wicked party, with strip poker and lots of alcohol and dirty dancing. But he wasn't big on the party scene. And even after he politely told them no, they decided to throw one anyway. Just because they were college students and there were bound to be college parties.

His friends, Hayner, Pence and Olette, had said something about going out to a club or a bar and maybe getting a girl to give him a lap-dance.

"No thanks." the blond was completely unfazed as he spoke nonchalantly into the cordless phone while trying to finish up his literature essay for class the very next day. He was just going through some more editing and checking to make sure the grammar and punctuations were right.

"Aw, come on Roxas, it'll be _fun_."

The said person merely rolled his eyes at his best friend Hayner who probably couldn't see him but could probably predict his reactions anyway because they've been friends for eons. He could hear snickers in the background.

And then the sound of a girl's voice came through, "Yeah come on Roxas, we did that for Pence last year."

And then the snickering stop, "Oh the horror." the said person moaned in the background followed by a wooded thump as memories of a not-so-long forgotten past were suddenly resurfacing again.

The poor boy…

In case you were wondering why Roxas was able to hold a three-way phone conversation with his friends, it was because all three of them decided to rent out an apartment close to Radiant Garden University together while Roxas stuck to one of the campus dorms for Hollow Bastion University.

It was a pretty cheap deal too. And you know how young college students are. They're dirt poor.

"We could always get a guy to give you a lap-dance instead if you want." Hayner suggested with a sly voice.

Roxas could practically see that smirk on his best friends' face but he merely shook his head as he continued to type out and edit the essay on the laptop in front of him, "No thanks." He was used to Hayner's dirty and perverted ways. But then again, they _have_ been friends since _forever._

"Aw come _on_ Roxas." Hayner whined.

"Look, guys," he started as he saved his work with a quick click of a button, "I appreciate the effort, but I just don't wanna do anything this year." it was too much of a hassle, you know?

"But we didn't even get to celebrate it last year." Pence brought up.

"That's because it was our first year of college and we were stressing our asses off." he reasoned, and it was half true.

"We could've done something in the weekend."

Roxas didn't know why Olette and the others were bringing up the past now. It was the present, or have they forgotten?

"I had assignments due and essays to write. I'm sure you guys had projects to do too. There just wasn't any time." the blond reasoned as he closed his laptop and allowed it to hibernate for a little while.

"There's _always_ time." Hayner grumbled on the other side and the whole line went quiet. Thick with awkward, tension-filled silence.

Roxas forced back a sigh and looked up at the calendar he had tacked up to the wall on the opposite wall of his bed, his birthday was on a Saturday, which meant that if his friends wanted to get him drunk, he'd have Sunday to sleep in and cure himself of a hangover and then get ready for lectures the very next day.

"…Whatever then." he gave in and gave an unseen shrug to his friends.

Apparently, a 'Whatever.' from Roxas to them obviously meant 'Sure, why not.' and they were now whooping and screaming and shouting and hurting his ears because they had him on _speaker_.

"God, would you guys quiet down? I'm going deaf here." Roxas cringed as he switched ears and wondered the risks of getting his other good ear semi-deaf as well.

"Man, you are gonna _love_ what we've planned for you." Hayner practically laughed into the phone before a loud smacking noise was heard.

"Shut up Hayner."

"Dammit Olette, that _hurt_."

"You almost ruined it." she scolded in her motherly chastising voice.

"Did not!"

Roxas decided to interfere in their lovers' quarrel, "You guys already started planning?"

While the other two argued and bickered, Pence decided to pick up the phone and take off the speaker option, "We're not telling." he spoke in a sing-song voice while Olette and Hayner were still speaking in hushed and raised voices in the background.

"Great." the blond rolled his eyes and hoped his friends wouldn't be stupid enough to get him a stripper. He'd leave before the lady, or guy, whatever, could even take off their hats. "I'm _so_ excited." he spoke, his voice bordering on complete sarcasm.

"You should be."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

Roxas rolled his eyes again and couldn't help but wonder what he was getting himself into.

"Anyways," Pence started up again, "We'll pick you up Friday night."

"And party the whole weekend away?"

"Wait and you'll soon find out."

"Oh hoorah…" he brought up one hand to rub at his face tiredly while he leaned back in his chair.

Pence laughed, said his farewells, followed by shouted goodbyes from the other two room-mates, and the line was dead.

Roxas sighed as he pushed the button to end the call, threw it on top of his bed and slouched down on his seat until the back of his head rested comfortably on the backrest.

"I can't wait…" his voice dripping with more sarcasm.

* * *

"…A bar."

"It's a night club."

"Correction, it's a dance slash night club _slash_ bar." Hayner butted in and corrected both Roxas and Olette while Pence was trying to de-wrinkle his ironed dress-shirt that was predominantly maroon with a mauve colored undertone. After he was done with the shirt, he wiped his hands on his dark trousers. A nervous habit he had ever since they first met him way, _way_ back in the day.

The blond shook his head as he stared up at the neon sign that hung above their heads and illuminated the ground below.

His friends had already gone on ahead to join the line that seemed to be going at quite a pretty good speed while he took in the name of the place. The letters were highlighted blue on a black background with a symbol that looked very foreign squeezed in between the two words while a double blue neon light surrounded the sign.

"Welcome to Final Fantasy, got an I.D on ya?" he heard one of the bouncers say as he went on to join his friends somewhere in the line all the while passing numerous other people and catching on their gossip and conversations.

"--live band performing tomorrow night."

"I forgot my I.D card at home; you reckon I could still--"

"--been ages since I last came by--"

Somebody grabbed his arm, "Oh my God, this is so _exciting_!" Olette cried out happily and jumped up a couple of times on her high heels.

Roxas didn't know how girls could do that. It was weird and strange and it looked almost a little painful. He winced a little when the stiletto made a loud scraping noise on the concrete floor as Hayner spun her around on the spot, both of them with smiles on their faces and laughter in their eyes.

The both of them were wearing matching colors of orange. Hayner with his dress-shirt of orange with a tint of auburn while Olette was wearing a one-piece orange sleeveless dress with hues of russet. The dirty haired blonds' trousers were black however.

Roxas went with a simpler approach of dark trousers, a plain white dress-shirt, two buttons left alone, showing off the black shirt beneath with his sleeves rolled up twice to expose his favorite accessories. A black and white checkered wristband with two finger-rings of both black and white respectively.

Another grate of the stiletto on the concrete made the blond cringe again.

"Wait until we're inside to dance guys." the dark haired boy gave a half smile and ushered them to move forward up the line.

"Oh yeah…this is _so_ exciting…" the blond muttered mainly to himself and followed with his hands in his pockets while Pence laughed a little at what he said. Roxas didn't know when he got so sarcastic about life either.

It didn't take long to get up to the front, only ten minutes of waiting and constant shuffling and chatting.

Not one step away from entering the building, they were greeted by the two bouncers; a tall, dark male with a shaved head and black sunglasses (who wears sunglasses at night?) and a shorter but still pretty tall red head with a wide smirk on his face.

"Welcome to Final-" he stopped himself when his eyes landed on the blue-eyed blond, "Hey there, hot stuffs." he red head grinned and winked, "What's shakin'?" he raised his eyebrows suggestively as he gazed at the blond while the man beside the red head cleared his throat.

Roxas furrowed one eyebrow and raised the other at the red head while his friends giggled and snickered at him, 'Did he just use a pick-up line on me?'

"Reno, stop harassing the clients." a deep voice erupted from the tall man as he peered down and looked at the red head from behind his glasses.

The said person clicked his tongue, "I'm just playin'." he chuckled as he snapped his fingers, "Right, got any I.D on ya?" he asked as he leaned his head towards them.

Hayner, Pence and Olette immediately produced theirs from their wallet while Roxas was re-considering if he wanted to go inside or not.

"Forgot your I.D or something yo?" the red head asked as he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Roxas." Hayner hissed while the said person drew in a deep breath, sighed tiredly and after some rummaging around, showed his I.D to both bouncers.

"Roxas." the shorter of the two bouncers spoke, "I like, I like." he smirked while the taller male coughed and cleared his throat again.

"Reno."

"Aww, jealous much?" the red head smirked, "You know you're the only one for me Rude." he chuckled as he raised an arm and propped it up on the taller man's shoulder, "Alright, alright, you four can go on in." he nudged his head towards the door while the other bouncer merely nodded his head in affirmation.

"SWEET!" Hayner almost elbowed Pence behind him as he practically ran in through the black curtains and was gone. "_Woah_!"

"Come on Roxas." Olette smiled as she hooked her arm around his and led both him and Pence inside.

After they went in through the curtains and spotted the stairs, Roxas figured that Hayner must've been exclaiming about that just seconds ago, they walked down the set of stairs that were illuminated with blue lighting, past another set of doors and they were immediately blasted with a sensual heat-wave and pumping loud music.

"Hey, I think Hayner found us a spot!" Pence shouted over the music that was blaring out of the overhead speakers as he pointed over to the said person who was waving wildly at them.

They moved through the crowd, past the dance floor where people were kissing, dancing, and grinding into each other, and they eventually got to the part where the plush seats, cushions and tables were and sat down.

"Piña Colada? Smoky Martini? Brandy Daisy? Take your pick Roxas, my treat tonight." Hayner smirked as he leaned over the table and waved the menu around.

And you could tell just how tempted he was with the choices, "…No thanks."

"Come on Roxas! One drink!" he whined and almost as quickly recomposed himself, "Fine, I'll order one for you."

Roxas ignored his best friend as he took a look around the club and spotted somebody sitting at the nearby bar with a couple of friends standing around and a couple of shot glasses laid out in a row.

"One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, FLOOR!" one of them guffawed like mad and smacked the guy who was sitting down hard on the back.

A grunt was heard, "They're shots! Demyx, get your definitions straight!" the man who was heartily smacked on the back sneered at the other.

"Come on Xig, cheer up. You're emoing more than Zexy is tonight."

'Zexy' or the one that Roxas assumed to be Zexy and who was looking positively emo, raised a hand and rubbed his face tiredly with it.

Roxas looked away from the group of people, he didn't want to lose more brain cells by watching them. Although he felt just a tad bit sorry for 'Zexy' who almost looked like a small fish in a big pond. Does that make sense to you? Oh well, he was just sticking out like a sore thumb.

He couldn't tell what sort of people they were, but he was almost sure the guy sitting on the stool at the bar had hair with two colors in it.

The dark lighting in the building made everything hard to tell. One of the bartenders looked as though he had purple hair. And even his blond hair had taken a sort of blue sheen to it.

"So _you_ want the Piña Colada," Hayner pointed to Olette who nodded, "And _you_ want the Sea Breeze," he pointed over to Pence who gave a thumb's up.

Roxas tried to listen, without looking too eager, to what his best friend decided to get him, but he didn't get a word out of the dirty haired blond as he smirked and started his way over towards the bar to place down their orders.

"Bastard…" the blond muttered out and ignored the laughter from his remaining two friends.

It didn't take long for Hayner to come back with promises of drinks to come, but by the time he did, Roxas had suffered three lame pick-up lines from guys, four flirts from various girls and guys, a slip of the number from two people who he was unable to tell if they were a girl _or_ a guy…and the offer to go dance with one guy who was looking absolutely _smashed_ beyond belief.

Roxas was surprised the guy was still awake and standing on his two feet. Although the guy _did_ call him a pretty lady…

Idiot…

"Roxas! Boy do we have something up our sleeves for you!" Hayner called out just as he sat down opposite to the said blond and beside the brunette.

"What're you doing?" the blond hoped it wasn't anything too embarrassing. But then again, this was _Hayner_. Embarrassing people was his past-time hobby! It probably still _is_ his hobby. But Roxas didn't mind it, as long as he wasn't on the receiving end.

The dirty haired blond merely smirked and leaned back out of Roxas' ear shot to whisper something into Olette's ear, who in turned giggled and went to whisper something in Pence's ear who was now smiling.

A frown tugged on his lips as he pointed a finger at them, "You guys better tell me _exactly_ what the hell it is that you-" he was unexpectedly cut off by a loud voice and he quiet his own down because manners taught him never to speak when someone else is speaking or trying to announce something.

"Yo, yo, yo people listen up!" the blue-blond haired DJ with a large tattoo on the side of his face called out from his stand using a microphone and the people silenced themselves to listen to him speak. Almost as though his word was law around here, "Thanks to y'all for coming , hope you're all enjoying the night!" somebody made a loud whistle which started to get the crowd laughing, a little riled up and restless, "Now, before we start with the nightly requests from each and e-ve-ry-one of you," he flashed a grin and gave the crowd a wink, "I've got something to say." he coughed into his fingerless-gloved hand and cleared his throat and the crowd on the dance floor fidgeted around and waited in barely suppressed anticipation, "We've got a special guest tonight who's turning twenty! Give it up for Roxas! Whoo!"

The crowd cheered and roared for Roxas, even though they had no idea who, exactly, this 'Roxas' was.

The blond merely shook his head as his friends clap, cheered, and cat-called for him.

"Where's the lucky man?!" the DJ called out and started scanning the crowd with his hands above his eyes as though it would help him locate the unknown blond while Roxas tried to meld in with the couch of which he was sitting on. His cheeks were starting to grow a little warm; he never _did_ like the spotlight. It wasn't meant for him.

"HERE! OVER HERE!!" Hayner cried out and pointed to the blond who was trying to make himself scarce.

"Well there he is ladies! And gents." the crowd laughed and giggled, "Go get him before I do!" then they roared with laughter.

Once the music started up again, a few people were starting to come towards them. Both female _and_ male.

'Since when did I come off as…gay? Or even bi? Or even anything _other_ than asexual?' the blond asked himself as he straightened himself up and avoided the feral gazes that some of the women and men patrons seem to be fixing him and the stupid grins on his friends' face. He wasn't feeling comfortable anymore.

But then again, this whole night is something _way_ out of his comfort zone.

There were some laughs, and giggles, a couple of snickers, and before one of them could make a move on him, a voice called out and people were politely shoved out of the way.

"Excuse me, drinks coming through."

Eventually, the purple haired bartender made his way over to their table with a black tray of drinks balanced in one hand and the other hand free and on his hips. The tattoos on his face and piercings on his ears, eyebrow and lip made him look quite cool and attractive (Roxas almost mentally smacked himself for such a thought), although he was rather feminine for a guy. Must be the hips and that insanely thin waist that would make every women envy him. "So you're the birthday boy huh?" he smirked, "This one's on the house." he winked as he placed a tall drink down on the table and slid it in front of the blond without letting his eyes stray away from blue.

"…Thanks." he wasn't much of a drinker, but he could always give it to Hayner instead. He _loves_ getting piss-ass drunk and throwing up on the side-walk.

As the purple haired guy (Roxas couldn't tell if it was really purple or something else) placed down the drinks in front of Hayner, Pence and Olette who each had either a smirk or a smile on their faces, the waiter/bartender turned his sights back to the blond.

"Take a sip and tell me what you think." he spoke as he pointed over to the tall drink sitting in front of Roxas.

The blond noticed that were was a silver ring on it with roman numerals printed around the outside on the waiter's middle finger.

The crowd behind the guy seemed to have quieted down a bit to see the reaction that the blond might give.

Would he choke and let them laugh at his expense? Or would he say something witty and make them think twice about him?

Roxas didn't feel too comfortable with the fact that a hundred pair of eyes of varying colors were fixed right on him. But slowly, he reached out for the drink, touched the glass where condensation had already formed, dripped and made a ring of water on the table and brought it up to his lips.

He took a small sip through the straw, found it surprisingly sweet and salty with a strong but subtle undertone of alcohol, it was nice. "What is this?" he asked curiously as he looked into eyes of green.

"You like?" he grinned as he leaned down a little to peer into eyes of blue. "It's my own special blend, for special occasions." he winked and gave another smile that showed off his pearly whites, "Happy Birthday." he gave a two-finger salute and was now making his way back to the bar.

Roxas only noticed now that his hair wasn't purple. It was red.

Just how red it was, the blond couldn't tell.

He took another sip and declined all requests for a dance and anything of the like.

* * *

There was a countdown to midnight. Olette was giggling at every single little thing, Pence was smiling constantly and Hayner had that _look_ on his face like he was hiding something behind his back even though there was nothing there. His grin turned into a smirk as he brought up his wrist-watch and stared at it.

"10…9…8…Come on Roxas, count with me!" he laughed as he gave the said person a hearty smack on the shoulder and Roxas tried not to spill over his drink, "3…2…1! Congrats Roxas! You're _officially_ an adult now!" he howled like a wolf and drummed his fingers on the table.

Technically, he wouldn't be an adult until it was 9:57 in the morning, but he'd humor his semi-drunken friend for now. "You become an adult when you're twenty-one."

"No you don't!" he scoffed as he brought up his sixth drink of the night. It was safe to say he was looking just a little bit tipsy. "You were nineteen. Nine-_teen_. Now you're twenty. Twen-_ty_."

"…Right." he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at his dirty haired blond of a best friend. Not even half a night had past and he was already acting like a drunk idiot.

"Hayner, can we go dance?" the brunette asked as she took a sip of her fifth alcoholic drink.

"Sure babe, let's go." he grinned as he took her hand and started towards the dance floor, "Man the fort!" he called back with a wave and disappeared into the crowd just as DJ Zell started up another requested song of the night.

"This is request number who the fuck cares anymore, Finger Eleven with Paralyzer!"

More people seemed to have swarmed over towards the dance floor at the mention of the song, and it was lucky that the building was air-conditioned or else the air would've been stifling by now. Hot and humid and…just unpleasant to sit around in.

Somebody nearby groaned and the blond turned his head over to his friend who keeled over on the table. That looked a bit worrying, "Hey Pence, you ok?"

He groaned again, "I need to head over to the toilet. I'll be right back." he didn't wait for a reply of the sort before he shuffled out of the seat and scrambled over towards his new destination. Pence had only been halfway through his fourth drink, but it didn't seem as though he knew how to hold his liquor. But then again, apart from Hayner and maybe Olette, he and Pence were still beginners.

Rule number one when having your first taste of alcohol? Slow and easy does the trick.

Roxas watched as his friend disappeared from view and he sat back in his plush seat to twiddle around with the straw of his drink.

He was just in the middle of contemplating if he wanted to take another sip or not when a figure dressed in black and blue appeared in his peripheral vision and he turned his head to come face to face with a blue torso. Almost disinterestedly, the blond looked up and was soon gazing into eyes of the enviest of greens.

"Hey birthday boy, I'm on my break, mind if I join you?" the bartender/waiter asked with a sort of half smile, half smirk on his face as he pointed to the almost empty table.

"Sure, whatever." he shrugged as he turned his eyes away and continued to swirl the straw around the drink.

"Here's another drink on the house as my peace offering." he spoke as he placed a drink down in front of the blond before he sat down on the opposite side of the table.

Roxas hadn't noticed that the other guy had been holding a drink before, but then again, he hadn't really been looking in the first place, "I'm not a big drinker."

"Oh I know, you're only three quarters of a way done with the first drink, which I might add, is probably dis_gust_ingly warm." he made a slight face with his tongue sticking out and the blond noticed that he had a piercing on it too.

Ouch much?

Roxas shrugged at the comment as he stared down at his 'disgustingly warm' drink. He stopped drinking it before the first hour was even over. The drink didn't taste as nice as it first did when it was freshly made and was cooler.

"Just leave it to the side, and I'll clean it up later." the man brought up as he crossed one leg over the other and brought up one arm to balance on the cushion back rest. "So where'd your buddies go?" he asked as he stared at the multiple empty glasses on the table and started looking around the place.

"Two of them are dancing and the other one went to the washroom." probably puking his guts out. Poor Pence.

"And they decided to leave the birthday boy alone," he chuckled light heartedly, "Some friends _they_ are." he scoffed softly.

Roxas didn't say anything as he continued to play around with his first drink, not bothering to pay attention to the second one not half an arm-length's away.

"So, you come around here often?"

The blond looked up and stared at the red head, "Do I look like I come around here often?"

"True, you look more like one of those guys who probably have better things to do with life than just sit around and get high off your ass."

The blond sniffed nonchalantly as he picked up the glass and swirled the contents around. He had just made a good looking whirlpool when the glass was plucked away from his fingers and a cooler drink took its place.

No words were exchanged and the blond merely stared.

"What is this?" Roxas asked again as he made nonsensical patterns on the condensation surrounding the glass before he reached up to fiddle with the black straw.

"Like I said, it's my own special blend." he grinned as he leaned forward, placed one arm on the table and propped the other one up on his elbow to rest his chin in his open palm, "Don't worry, I didn't drug it or anything."

Roxas hummed his reply as he took another sip of the ice, cool drink. It was quite refreshing, subtle, yet strong in flavor and leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste.

"Sea-salt gin and tequila." the red head spoke again and the blond peered up to see the other person give another sort of half smirk and smile, "Something that I made when I was drunk myself."

The blond scoffed and was just about to say something in reply to the red head's comment when a loud comment was heard from the bartenders, "We're getting _swamped_ man. Who the hell told snake-eyes to slither off?!"

The red head grimaced a little and scratched the side of his cheek looking a little sheepish. "Guess my break's over huh?" he spoke as he uncrossed his legs and was about to make a move to leave when he stopped himself midway of getting up, "Oh hey, here's a present for you." the red head leaned forward and made a move to take something out from the back pocket of his dark business trousers.

Blue eyes watched with a little hint of curiosity as the red head stood up with the help of one hand on the table and the other closed off and holding onto something before he took one step towards the other and then pressed it into the blonds' chest.

Roxas looked down at the hand and raised an eyebrow before he looked up to find the red head leaning in towards his face.

"Happy Birthday Roxas." he whispered and Roxas could hear the smile in his voice.

Soon, the warmth on his chest was gone and the blond reached up to catch the falling object in his hands. It was a keychain of sorts. Circular, with multiple spikes. Roxas couldn't really tell the colors apart but it looked similar to the red head and what he was wearing. He'd just have to have a better look once he outside and under the lamp post rather than the ones belonging to the disco lights.

When Roxas looked up again, he spotted the red head walking away from him. "Hey," he called out and was halfway out of the seat. When he looked into eyes of green again, he continued, "What's your name?"

"Me?" he smirked and gave a sort of half-hearted shrug, "I'm nobody." he gave the blond one more wink before he turned around and started walking back towards the bar, "See you around Roxas." he threw a wave back and almost immediately disappeared into the crowd except that the red head was tall and the blond could still see the spikes of his purple-red hair.

Roxas continued to stare, even after the red head stepped into the bar and then disappeared behind the door leading into the back and even after Pence returned from the washroom looking positively…guttered.

But he eventually turned to look at the dark haired boy who looked very tired, "You ok Pence?" he asked as he continued to fiddle around with the keychain while he eyed his friend cautiously.

"Yeah…" he mumbled out and sighed as he rested his head on top of his arm on the table.

The blond chose not to say anything about his breath, although he _did_ offer a mint or two. He always carried some lemon-flavored mints around.

Some ten minutes later, a different waiter, not the purple-red head, came by with an empty tray and took away the empty or almost empty glasses on the table leaving behind only Roxas' still half-full glass of gin and tequila.

"Can I get a glass of water too? For my friend." the blond spoke up just before the waiter turned around and walked away.

The pink-haired (?) waiter flashed a polite grin and nodded, "Sure, I'll be right back with it."

"Thank you." Roxas nodded and watched as the other man walked away from them all the while trying not to bump into anybody and send the glasses to make a symphony on the floor.

When he turned his blue eyes back to the front, he saw Pence smile at him in appreciation, "Thanks a bunch Roxas."

"No problem." he returned the smile with one of his own.

What're friends for right?

Eventually, what seemed like an hour later, Hayner and Olette came back laughing and giggling and holding onto each other for support and balance.

So…just whose birthday was it again?

"So you guys ready to get back to your apartment yet?" the blond asked as he fiddled around with the straw of his empty glass.

"Yeaaahh. I'm ready to bunk out here." the dirty haired blond grinned as he allowed the brunette to slide into the seat first before him.

Roxas rolled his eyes and got up, "Come on, let's get back before I end up having to drag all of you home." oh the absolute joy it would bring him.

He suffered a minor head-rush but it was gone almost as quick as it came. It took a little bit of effort, but soon after some convincing, he managed to usher his friends out the door of the club, up the stairs and through the curtains into the moon illuminated street life.

He was mildly caught off guard at the sight of two people kissing and making out at the entrance. Roxas wondered how many people managed to slip in because the two bouncers were slacking off from their jobs.

He shrugged, decided that he didn't care and continued his mission of trying to get his friends, who were completely oblivious to the two men who happened to be eating each others' faces off, safely back to their apartment. It was now that he really wished that he drove his car instead of walked.

And now that he thought about it, one of them should've been the designated driver and stayed sober. And it might as well have been Roxas since he didn't even like drinking.

It should be only a fifteen minute walk back, but with them in their current state and their walking pace, it'll take a miracle for them to get back before the sun decided to rise.

Olette giggled and then screamed when she lost balance on her high heels and grabbed onto Hayner for support or lest she fell down and become sprawled all over the concrete.

"These heels are killing me." she spoke with a slight grin as she bent over and slipped them off and let them hang off her two fingers.

Pence was the first to collapse onto his knees about a quarter way back home. Roxas sighed a little as he walked over to his friend in need and tried to bring the dark haired boy back up to his two feet. Shortly after Pence fell down, Hayner thought it would be funny to hang off the blond who was still doubled over with one of the dark haired boy's arm across his shoulder.

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas." he drawled out, "You are _one_ lucky guy." he laughed and the blond turned to stare at his friend incredulously and caught the swaying motion of the brunette from the corner of his eye.

"Shit, Hayner, Olette's gonna-" almost immediately, the brunette fell backwards into the waiting arms of a complete stranger.

"Whoopsie-daisy."

Roxas tried to turn around, but with two people hanging off his arms and body, he found it a little difficult to, but the voice was so familiar.

"You look like you're in need of some help."

He could see the shiny, polished dress-shoes, followed by a pair of black business trousers, a white button-up dress-shirt, a black tie and a black zip-up jacket left opened.

Roxas could only look at far as the top of Olette's head, but his peripheral vision could see that it was that guy from before.

It was that same guy. That guy from the bar, from that club. And Roxas was right about the hair. It was red. Fire-engine truck _red_. And his _eyes_. They were really something else.

"Yeah." he grunted out his response and only just now noticed that both Pence and Hayner were out like a light and so was Olette who was on her two feet but hanging limply off the guy's arms and snoozing.

"I was just on my way over to my car, you need a lift?"

As if Roxas could say no.

The blond still couldn't really turn back and fully face the red head, what with both of his hands occupied with someone, "That would really help." he grumbled out and tried to keep himself from making nice with the ground. Pence needs to lose some weight, and Hayner…he needs to lay off those energy bars and drinks.

The red head chuckled as he gracefully picked up the brunette, one arm on her back and the other beneath the joint of her knees, "My car's just up front." he spoke as he walked with long strides while Roxas struggled with two people leaning heavily on him.

About four lamp posts away, the blond watched as the red head gently bent down and slowly released the brunette's legs while he dug around his pockets for his car keys.

After the red head was done with putting Olette into the back seat of his sleek, black car, he quickly jogged up to the blond and gently took the dark haired boy from his arms, never once complaining about the weight. It was a huge load off of Roxas and he found that he could actually _walk_ now. Not just _walk_, but he felt as though he was about to float away, except that Hayner was holding him down and he couldn't join the stars in the sky and sit on one of the clouds to stare down at the earth below.

Shit, he just realized that he might just be a _tad_ drunk.

Once those two were in the car, seat belts and all, Roxas was about to make a move to get into the passenger seat when the red head started running back the way they came which greatly confused him, "Where are you going?" he called out to the retreating red head and hoped he didn't sound as worried as he was feeling.

The bartender/waiter turned around and pointed just a few steps ahead, "She dropped her shoes." he replied with a sort of grin before he walked over and picked the dropped footwear from the ground.

"Oh."

"What? You thought I was gonna ditch?" he chuckled as he strolled back towards his car and popped the driver side door open. "No way would I ditch a pretty blond in need."

Roxas didn't say anything but grumbled out just a little as he hopped in and closed the door as quietly as he could. Mission failed, because Olette, who was a pretty light sleeper, started to murmur. But due to her drunkenness, she fell right back to sleep.

The red head chuckled again as he gave the orange flower-decorated shoes to the blond, "Hold these for her." he spoke as he closed the door and started up the engine of his car. "So where are your friends staying at?"

"The apartments close to RGU." Roxas replied as the red head pulled out from the sideway carpark without signaling. But then again, it _was_ pretty late at night.

"Twilight Residence?" he asked as he made a left turn and kept going straight.

"Yeah."

"All three of them staying there?"

"Yeah." then the blond only just belatedly realized that he disclosed his friends' location to a total stranger. Smooth move Roxas.

"You've got the keys to their apartment right?" the driver made a left turn and stopped at the red light of a deserted intersection.

"I'm pretty sure they do." but if they didn't, they could always bunk over at his dorm, although it'll be pretty cramped.

The red head hummed as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in a nonsensical tune and waited for the lights to turn to green.

Soon, the lights changed and it took them barely even five minutes before they pulled into the residence parking lot.

In the middle of getting Pence and Hayner out from the back seat, Olette woke up and started mumbling incoherent things.

"Hey Olette, we're almost at the apartment, you think you can walk?" the blond spoke softly as he leaned over his best friend's unconscious body to speak with the brunette.

She murmured more nonsensical words but nodded.

"Ok, you can lean on me on the way up." he spoke as he proceeded to unbuckle their seatbelts, gave her back her shoes which she seemed a little confused about, then half-dragged Hayner out from the back seat. After he got a good hold of the dirty haired blond who was now muttering obscenities, Olette stumbled out and grabbed onto the blond for some support.

"Wow, I'm so sorry Roxas." she seemed surprised with herself.

"It's ok." he offered her a small smile as he started his slow walk towards the apartment complex. He failed to hear another set of footsteps behind him and paused to look over his shoulder.

The red head caught the motion and grinned, "Forgot her shoes again." he gave a slight shrug as he crouched down a little and picked up the shoes, closed the door which the brunette forgot about, then locked it with a push of a button all the while making sure that the hold on the chubby boy didn't falter.

In through the glass front doors, towards the elevator, it was a short wait for it to arrive down. After they got on and Roxas pushed the button for the correct floor, the doors closed and the begun their ascension.

During the short ride, the brunette seemed to notice that her shoes were in the hands of the stranger, "Oh, I can take them now, thank you." she offered a smile as she reached for them.

"You sure?" he asked as he made a move to give the shoes back.

"Yeah, thank you for holding them for me." she continued to smile appreciatively as she took the shoes away and tiredly rested her head on the blonds' shoulder. "Roxas, I'm sleepy."

"We're almost there Olette. Do you have your keys?"

"It's in my bag."

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows as he stared down at her hands that were not holding onto a bag of any sort, "…Where's your bag?" he asked even though he probably already knew the answer.

She looked down at her hands, noticed the shoes, and the one that was holding onto the blonds' shirt, "I don't know." she spoke with a hint of confusion.

The red head chuckled softly while Roxas fought back the urge to groan and smack his head.

Eventually, they reached their floor and stepped off the elevator to reach the door of their apartment, "Ok, don't panic," he started mumbling to himself, "I'm pretty sure Hayner has the keys, but if not, then maybe Pence has it." he spoke mainly to himself as he started to rifle through the dirty haired blonds' pockets. "And thank God he didn't forget it this time." he sighed in relief as he slid the keys into the lock and they stumbled in, "Think you can get to your room by yourself Olette?" he asked as he turned to the brunette.

"I think I can manage. Thanks for the ride Roxas." she smiled as she dropped her shoes on the floor and walked into the living room.

"It was actually-" he watched as the brunette decided to camp out on the couch. "…Right." he sighed as he dragged the dirty haired blond into one of the rooms and looked over his shoulder to make sure the red head followed him, "These two share a room, so follow me." he spoke in a whisper as he shuffled past the living room into one of the opened rooms.

"Geez, I didn't think all three of them stayed at the same apartment."

"It was cheap, and you know how college students are."

"We're dirt poor."

Roxas smiled a little at the comment.

The blond didn't bother much about Hayner as he merely released his hold and allowed the dirty haired boy to adjust to his own position of choice. The red head did the same on the other bed, except maybe not as ungraceful as Roxas did.

"You can go now if you want." the blond spoke as he started his way out of the door towards the living room where Olette was.

"I can give you a lift home, but I gotta make a call first."

"Sure, go ahead." he shrugged as he picked the brunette up from the couch and started for her own room. She murmured sleepily but once settled into her own bed, she immediately dozed off again.

Roxas sighed as he brought up a hand to scratch his cheek. Those three were pretty lucky it was the weekend. They get two days to cure themselves of a hangover.

He walked towards the kitchen counter and placed the house keys down before he stepped outside and locked the door from the inside. He tested it with a turn of the doorknob before he deemed that it was safe to leave and caught the end of the phone conversation that the red head was having.

"Really? That's good. Yeah, I'll come over and pick it up soon." the red head turned and spotted the blond and gave a small wave, "Yeah, in about five or so minutes. Thanks again." he smiled into the phone and then hung up before he turned to the blond, "My friend at the bar in now in possession of your friend's purse." he smirked.

"At least now I know it's not stolen." that would save him the trouble of a distressed Olette tomorrow morning upon the discovery of her missing bag. "Thanks a lot by the way. I don't know how I would've heaved them home by myself." and now he is suffering sore, over-worked muscles and an aching back.

"Yeah well," he shrugged and seemed mighty proud of himself, "Some friends huh?" he grinned and started his way back to the elevator. "We'll just drop by the bar for a little while and pick it up."

"Ok, I'll just keep it with me until I see her again tomorrow or something." the blond shrugged and pushed the button for the elevator which immediately opened up for them.

The ride back to the bar was an almost quiet one, and no words were exchanged even as the red head got out of the car with the engine running to grab the bag.

Roxas shifted around in his seat a little and took out the keychain from his pocket and stared at it. It was circular, with odd spikes, mixed colors of black and silver with a dominance of a crimson red and stainless steel. It looked nice, interesting and it fit nicely and warmly in the palm of his hand. He was right about it though, it really _did_ look like the red head. It seemed to match his persona too.

"You like it?" a familiar voice broke him out of the self-induced trance that he put himself in as well as the shift in weight of the vehicle.

The blond turned his head just as the red head closed the driver's side door with a familiar bag in hand.

"Yeah, it's nice. Thank you." he smiled appreciatively as the red head handed the bag over towards him.

"Good, so look after it because it's my favorite keychain." he smirked as he pulled out into the road and started driving to who knows where.

The blond didn't know why he was suddenly so surprised that the waiter/bartender had given him something that was already on his person. But then again, he really shouldn't have been because the red head was a total stranger who didn't know anything about him. There was no need for the red head to even buy or give him anything in the first place.

"I didn't know that it-"

"No worries, you can keep it. I expect you to look after it though."

"You shouldn't have-"

"I insist." he flashed the blond a wicked grin, "And besides, I'd feel guilty if I didn't get you anything."

"It's not as if you know me." he pointed out, a little put off and flattered at the same time, "And then there were the two drinks that probably got counted towards your tab."

"That's something I do all the time. On special occasions." he quickly added with a sly smirk, "Don't worry about the drinks." he spoke and then quickly changed the subject, "So where's your place at?"

The blond hesitated for a short moment but answered as he pocketed the keychain back, "HBU campus dorms."

"You go to HBU as well?" he sounded surprised as he flicked the switch to indicate a right turn. It wasn't really necessary, since it seemed it though they were the only ones on the road. But then again, it's an enforced action.

"Yeah," he turned to stare at the red head, whose name he still did not know. "Second year."

"Oh, cool. Second year is always the best I reckon. You know your way around the place and you get to laugh as the first years' suffer." he grinned as he kept on driving in a straight line but always stopped at the red lights even though not a soul was around.

He turned to stare at the driver and almost wasn't so surprised that the red head would smirk and snicker at the lost little first years, "Second year for you too?" he asked curiously as he turned his blue eyes back to the front.

"I've already graduated, but I decided to go back and do another course."

"Really?" now _that_, completely caught him off guard. He didn't know a lot of people that would go back to college to do another course. Not everybody he knew was rich and loans were a bitch and the interest rates were…Satan incarnate.

"Yeah, was doing a graphics designing course and decided to go back and do a hospitality course as well." he smiled proudly as he continued driving, only sending a glance to the blond every once in a while. "And I don't mean to brag, but I was the one that designed the club logo and menus. I'm also the co-owner of it with my cousin and brother." he finished with another smirk.

"Talk about modest." Roxas spoke with a roll of his eyes.

"With a capital M."

Before the blond could stop himself, a yawn escaped his lips and it seemed to have stopped all forms of conversation. Although Roxas didn't mind so much. He was feeling tired, and drained. And the very slight buzz that he had been experience was completely all gone. Not that there was much to begin with.

"So," the red head started again once they neared the university campus, "Which side do you belong to?"

The college was a pretty large one, covering quite a big space, not to mention that it was the only university to house students on campus, so the dorms had to be spilt on either sides of the vicinity.

"I'm on the east side."

"Ah, so east meets west huh?" the red head smirked as he turned to regard the blond once again before he made a signal to turn left into another street.

Eventually, the campus dorms come up just around the corner and the red head slowed to stop by the curb, "Want me to walk you in?" he offered as he turned his body towards the blond.

Roxas rolled his eyes and gave a smirk, "I'm not _completely_ drunk."

"Damn," he snapped his fingers together and chuckled, "And here I thought I'd have my way with you." he added jokingly as he took in the amused look from the blond.

"Right." a soft laugh escaped his lips as he pulled the door open and stepped out of the vehicle. "Thanks for the ride by the way. Goodnight." he spoke as he bent down a little to look at the driver before he closed the door. Before he was even halfway towards the dorm entrance, he heard the car window being winded down and a familiar voice call out to him.

"Looking sexy with that bag Rox!"

The blond turned around, stuck his tongue out and flipped him the finger, "Don't make me come over and kick you with my stilettos."

"Youch Roxas, you really know how to hurt a man." he smirked and returned the gesture that the said person gave with a wave.

Even though the buzz Roxas felt earlier was no longer in his system, he now felt somewhat more drained than he had previously thought he would be. Drained, and tired, and ready to pass out as soon as he got inside and locked the door behind him.

He might've passed right there and then, four steps away from the glass entrance leading into the dorms, if not for the familiar voice calling out to him again.

"Hey, the name's Axel by the way."

The red head, now known as Axel, sounded fairly close, but the blond figured that his hearing must be playing silly tricks on him now, but he decided to turn around only to come almost face to face with a white chest.

Axel smirked at the look of slight surprised on the blonds' face, "Now you know my name."

"And here I thought you'd be one of those one-night-stands that never happened."

The red head turned away and feigned heartbreak, "You hurt me so."

The blond snorted as Axel recomposed himself. "You should come around again. Maybe I'll fix you up another one of those sea salt gin and tequilas."

Roxas smiled, albeit on the small side, but it was still a smile none the less, "Yeah, "I'd like that."

His smirk turned into a grin, "See you around birthday boy." he smiled as he leaned down and placed a quick peck on Roxas' cheek and took a couple of steps back before the blond would realize what the red head just did and land a punch on Axel as punishment. "Think of it as another present from me." he called out as he continued walking backwards to his car and gave another salute.

Shock must've been apparent on his face because Axel was now laughing at him.

Roxas' eye twitched and another smile threatened to appear on his face. Opps, too late now, "I hardly think that counts!" his voice eventually ended in a shout as the red head stumbled over his footing as his back hit the side of his car.

Axel, after giving one last salute, hopped back into his car, revved up the engine and then drove away beneath the starry night sky.

The blond didn't know how long he had been standing there for, but by the time he realized it, he was glad nobody was around to see him holding onto an orange sequined purse.

By the time he got back into his dorm, he threw the bag onto his study table and flopped onto his bed without getting changed and without brushing his teeth. He was tired, and he was drained and he didn't even get to count to ten before he fell asleep and dreamt of the blue lagoon on crushed ice and red lotuses floating on a green fantasy across the silver sunset.

* * *

A shrill cry rang through the air and reverberated through the walls while the blond remained motionless as he dozed on and tried in vain to shut the world out.

But the noise continued to rouse him away from his slumber and he slowly found himself awake and coherent enough to discern what that noise was.

After some senseless groping around, he managed to get a hold of the item and shut it off with a push of a button, "Hello…?" the blond muttered out into cordless phone that had been wedged in between his bed and the wall.

"Roxas…oh my fucking god, I feel like someone just bashed a struggle bat to my head, repeatedly." Hayner groaned into the phone.

The blond smirked to himself as he sat up on his bed and belatedly kicked his shoes off. He was mildly surprised that he wasn't suffering from a hangover. But he didn't want to jinx himself just yet.

"Has anybody seen my purse?" Olette spoke in the background while another groan was heard from nearby. It sounded like Pence, or it could still be Hayner.

"Your purse is at my place Olette." the blond spoke into the phone as he slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.

"Why do you have my purse?" she asked, a bit louder than before and Roxas knew that she was now by the phone that was placed on speaker.

"You left it behind last night."

"Oh, wow, I can't believe I did that."

"Same thing almost happened to your shoes."

A silence followed, a silence which the blond could tell was one of embarrassment, so he quickly changed the subject, "Yeah, anyway, how're you guys feeling?" he asked and was immediately greeted with groans and moans from three different people.

Roxas laughed as he stood up from his bed, eyed the purse on his study table and strolled over towards his kitchen to grab a cool drink.

"Man…" Hayner grumbled out, "We are _not_ doing that again anytime soon."

The blond snorted as a flash of red and green appeared in his vision and he reached into his pocket for the keychain, "Speak for yourself."

* * *

Huzzah, the one shot is finished! -is sad-

But I enjoyed writing it though.


End file.
